Corvids to be precise - hooded crow was a handy year tick today, having not yet ventured out of the county for 2012 birding. Not the easiest species to catch up with, so a bonus during a visit to Druridge Bay.
First stop had been at Woodhorn where a great grey shrike had been showing in the hedge near the church. I arrived ten minutes after it had lifted and flown over the road to the north.
Dipping continued at Druridge pools - I failed to locate the drake garganey, but a female marsh harrier gave decent views.
The hooded crow was next to Hemscott Hill and took an age to come into photographable range - it was nice light, not that the heat haze helped at all... A single sand martin flew through while I waited and flooded fields to the north held black-tailed godwit.
Meanwhile at Cresswell, 4 avocet fed in the northern part of the pool, and a male wheatear fed next to the path.
An alert of a male siberian stonechat on Holy Island was tempting (I still need this for Northumberland), but the timing wasn't quite right for a trip today...
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